Pink Manila Hostel Review: The Hostel Of Awesome

It must have been my fourth bottle of the night.

I bummed a smoke off an American and invited myself to a circle of conversation about Caucasus and how blatantly Middle Eastern the other American guy's nose is. The guy himself revealed his Armenian heritage later on which led us to the touchy discussion of genocide in which I unexpectedly babbled about the Ottoman Empire — much to the surprise of everyone. Me included.

Up until that point, I was merely lurking around the group. Occasionally smiling and raising my eyebrows to acknowledge a sentiment that I agree with, which could have made me look like some local trying to hook up with anyone.  

Thank goodness that fourth bottle spoke for me.

Bar by the pool. Photo from Pink Manila Hostel's site.   

We were all hanging out at the bar by the pool of Pink Manila Hostel. At one in the morning, everyone was still sane even though collectively we've downed countless bottles of the infamous Red Horse. We guffawed at each other's comical backpacking moments. And we professed our obsession over the Silk Road, with more serious faces.

I remember the sign in the lift that says, "There are no strangers at Pink Hostel.". That night there were really none. Even the resident kitten was single and ready to mingle.

Try their Thrilla in Manila!  

My stay in Pink Manila Hostel was a sponsored one, long overdue cause I was a continent away when Valerie's (the manager) email invite came through my inbox months ago. In all truthfulness, I kept my expectations quite low. Because I am familiar with its location, I blanketed the whole concept of having a backpacker hostel in this university hood with skepticism. The hostel is pretty young, having operated for just about half a year.

I wondered, is it keeping its head afloat?

The manager's artwork adorn the walls.  

The answer's a bit of a surprise as the hostel was only a few guests short of a full house when I checked in on a Monday. The reception opens out to a vast communal area with couches and bean bags. In the corner is a billiards table. Then there's  — undoubtedly the star of the hostel — the dip pool. Cause hello, how many hostels have one?

Before I was ushered to the eight-bed dorm room, the manager let me laze by the pool 'til I felt like touring the property. For a local guest like me, Pink Manila is not only an accommodation, it is a backpacker's state of mind. I'd say it ain't for everybody, but aren't all hostels like so?

It is for the fun. For the socially adventurous. For those who find humor in imperfection. Keep this in mind so as you don't ruin your stay or someone else's.

Pink Manila Hostel's "chill lounge". Photo from Pink Manila's site.

Pink Manila Hostel has four dorm rooms. A bed in Dorm A (sleeps 8), Dorm B (sleeps 6), and Dorm C (sleeps 6) costs P580 ($13-14). Dorms ABC are air-conditioned, each has en suite bath. In-room lockers as well. WiFi could reach this level but sometimes connection is wonky.

Penthouse dorm sleeps 12. En suite bath, in-room lockers. Fan-cooled. P450 ($10-11) a bed. 

Twin room is P1,600 ($37). Air-conditioned. Private locker, en suite bath.

If you got a long layover in Manila, the hostel also offers a Chill Out @ Pink Package for P250 that allows a guest to use the shower, swim in the pool, play billiards, connect to their Wifi, and maybe even pass out on one of the bean bags.

Overnight rates include a breakfast of toast and coffee. A bigger brekkie can be ordered at P100 ($2.50). Drinks are sold at the reception. Beer at P50 ($1.20).

Every evening, the management organizes a little something that encourages all the guests to bunch up. It could be an all-nighter at some nearby pub or a reggae party just by the pool. If you are in dire need of sleep, this could be an issue. Try to request for a more quiet nook and cross your fingers there's space.
 
May look messier in real life with its occupants. But hey, it's a dorm!  

Other facilities:

24-hour reception

Free WiFi

Fully equipped kitchen

LCD TV, DVD player at the common area

Left luggage facility 

Rooftop with hammocks

They also rent out the rooftop for parties.  

Now how to get there? Okay, that can be a challenge. If you're coming from the airport aboard a cab, just mention the address 'Estrada St. corner Arellano, Malate' for they are the more known streets within the area. Pink Manila Hostel is about a couple of blocks down. Have a map handy in case you need to navigate your way on foot. The hostel is housed in an 8-story light yellow building, its smallish sign made of tarpaulin faces Don Pedro St. where the gate is. 

If you arrive in the wee hours you may find the gate closed  but it is not locked. There should be a security guard on post. Take note, ride the lift because the staircase doesn't go all the way to the 5th floor where the reception is. 

Hope this helps. Screenshot from Google Maps.  

Is Pink Manila Hostel something I'd recommend to fellow travelers? Although I didn't shower this review with colorful confetti (as you might expect of a sponsored post), I'd say yes, I highly recommend Pink Manila Hostel. Its staff is attentive. And this kind of treatment wasn't just geared towards me, the invited guest. I watched the manager dress a guest's wound  after he slipped by the pool (had too much booze). That's a kind of service you won't easily find anywhere else.

So yeah, I agree that Pink Manila hostel is the "Hostel Of Awesome". A backpacker's kind of awesome.

Pink Manila Hostel
2551 Don Pedro St. Cor. Bautista St. Malate, Manila
Tel. No.: +63 2 484 31 45
Mobile: +63 919 235 69 39
E-mail: pinkhostel@gmail.com
Website: http://pinkmanilahostel.com/


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The Bayleaf, Intramuros, Manila: So We Sort Of Celebrated Valentine's Day

The newish kid on the block humbly stands within Intramuros' old walls. It ain't much of a looker from afar, but we effortlessly spotted it from the bedlam that is Taft Avenue on Valentine's Day 2013 — much thanks to the discernible sign posted on its facade just below the roof deck. Our car cautiously cruised Victoria Street, as we let a barrage of college students and belligerent pedicabs weave through the rush hour traffic.

The Bayleaf Hotel. Newish kid on a very old block.

Entrance to the hotel's basement parking is much less obvious however, for its steep access is on the other side of the block. This we learned when a security guard of the next door building shooed us from our public parking space so as we didn't have to pay the fee. He thumbed to the direction of the driveway. So off to the basement parking my mum and pop went, while the hubby and I and our daughter Luna walked to the lobby.

Bay leaves aglow at the lobby. Bay leaf is more popularly known as laurel in the Philippines, and Laurel is the family name of its owners.  

I booked our superior room for two, priced at about $95, through the hotel's website. The check in process wasn't the swiftest we've experienced, and we bought what the front office staff said, "We're just double-checking the room... [insert toothpaste-commercial-worthy smile]". Our wait lasted a little under ten minutes, enough for me to wonder how often is the piano by the staircase played — which consequently led to my opinion that the lobby could use more of them plush chairs for guests to sit on while their rooms are being "double-checked".

  The Bayleaf Hotel's superior room. It's blue for Valentine's.  

We were asked for a P2,000 (about $50) deposit before we're finally endorsed to the bellhop. Front office also handed us a ticket to present to the basement parking attendant. I gasped as the bellhop let us in this gem of a room, as much as I gasped when I found out about the deposit fee. The white and royal blue mix was pleasing to our eyes. The headboard's pattern is playful yet not too busy, and matches a wall in the spacious bathroom. There's a mini bar plus a coffee and tea making facility. In-room WiFi is awesome, hurrah! The floor space is sufficient to allow maneuverability without letting your knees bump into furniture. I prefer my hotel floor carpeted, but a squeaky clean one will do as well.

Our own slice of the famous, storied walls. Beyond it is the golf course.

Our view from the window was the icing on the cake. We're fortunate to have been assigned such room given the occasion. Take note, there are a few rooms with no view at all. We were unlucky however in booking a table at the Sky Deck View Bar and 9 Spoons Restaurant for dinner that night. Our reservation literally went down the drain... The hubby and I saw his name scribbled on a piece of paper in a drainage on the roof deck the next morning. Our non-romantic Valentine's dinner with the family ended up at nearby McDonald's, to the delight of sundae-craving Luna.

Sky Deck View Bar, open 5:00 PM onwards.
The overnight stay includes a breakfast buffet that's served at the 9 Spoons Restaurant. Continental brekkie lovers may not rave about it, due to the limited choice of breads. I didn't find the spread outstanding myself. Maybe it was just the selection that day? And it's quite disappointing that the coffee took forever to be served. At least the muesli brightened up my morning.

9 Spoons Restaurant at the penthouse. 

The breakfast buffet counter.

The Bayleaf Hotel for me is a hit despite its wee misses. It'll do fine without a gym and pool. I hope someday though each room is provided with a simple kit containing information about the hotel's facilities, restaurants and most especially about its surrounding area. 

It is after all sitting on a heritage site, which is the hotel's primary draw.

Not-to-be-missed walk on the walls.

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San Sebastian Church, Manila: Swept Off My Feet!

Faces were a blur as I fleeted past them. I was running late. I criss-crossed my way from Quiapo Church to an unfamiliar destination via an underpass and a hectic street, bumping into pedestrians and devotees and medicinal herb hawkers.

I was on my way to Illuminati Travel and Tours' grand launch. Co-owner Joel Aldor, who I met through the Pinoy Travel Bloggers FB group, sent me an invite (after I invited myself). The launch was scheduled on the 29th of January, fortunately we were in Manila then to take care of a few documents.

Basilica Minore de San Sebastián's facade.
As for the venue, well, I saw on the e-invite that it will take place in a certain church in Quiapo. I lived in nearby Malate for almost nine years and I've never been to, I read, San Sebastian Church. Neither have I Googled it. Hence, I didn't set any expectations. I was attending with a clean slate.

Jeep drivers and bystanders directed me to the church. When it came to view, about more than a hundred meters away, I swear my eyes must have seemed they were about to pop out of my lids! I was completely astounded. How could something this grandiose just be... be here and I was never aware of it?!

Just outside the church doors was an unmanned registration booth. I took a colored flyer, wrote my name on the logbook, and stepped in.

I was swept off my feet.

Arrived at this scene, attendees looking up and around the beautiful interior.
From the entrance, I could hear Joel's voice faintly. The people were gathered near the altar. The tour obviously has begun. I didn't join straight away though. Instead, I roamed around by myself (which I usually do on tours) and closely studied the impressive walls, windows, posts and ceiling.

The Basilica Minore de San Sebastián or San Sebastian Church is a Neo-Gothic church completed in 1891, and is the only all-steel church in Asia. It's currently included on the tentative list of possible World heritage Sites. I reckon it really should be.

When I found out that the church's steel sections were prefabricated and shipped from Belgium, it got me thinking... For what purpose is this spectacular structure? For more followers? For prestige? Or to showcase artistry? Perhaps an intermarriage of all these.

Nevertheless I am hoping heritage conservators/experts find a solution to its corrosion, without tampering the painting on the walls by Lorenzo Rocha and his students.

About to climb up the choir loft.
The rest of the tour I spent listening to parts of the talk and chitchatting with fellow bloggers Mark of Nomadic Experiences and Anton of Pusang Kalye, both I met for the first time.

Day was concluded with hors d'oeuvres and drinks at the church yard (where I also met Bernie of Habagat Central and Edgar of Eazy Traveler - and I so wish I was introduced to AJ of The Transcendental Tourist!), and a raffle. Three lucky people won free tours.

For more info on Illuminati Travel and Tours' packages, visit their website.


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Snapshot Saturday: Spectacular Steel Structure

Basilica Minore de San Sebastián
I remember the second I stepped in this church... I looked up, stared at its gorgeous ceiling and whispered, "Where have you been all my life?". It's just in Manila folks. You gotta see this all-steel Neo-Gothic marvel.

Thanks to Illuminati Travel and Tours I was brought here. Cheers to your successful launch.

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Snapshot Saturday: Travel Tragedy on Christmas Day

A hair-raising Christmas memory.
Four Christmases ago, a trip from Tarlac to Manila almost took my life. This Christmas, I raise my shot of Caramel Mudslide to my second life and all its crazy adventures.

How about you? What are you grateful for this year?

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Snapshot Saturday: Paco Park

Paco Park, view from the top of its thick adobe walls.
What used to be a municipal cemetery during Spanish colonial period is now a park frequented by young dating couples from surrounding universities. Its charming old St. Pancratius Chapel, more popularly known as Paco Park Church, is a top fave for intimate weddings.

It is where the Pinay Travel Junkie tied the knot with her backpack buddy. Tomorrow is the first anniversary of our "settling around".

Mother's Day at Manila Zoo

My first Mother's Day! Okay, so I'm not a full-on mum yet since I'm still 5 months on the way but hubby and I already felt like celebrating. My OB-Gyne found out through ultrasound that I have a low-lying placenta two weeks ago, so going out of town was strictly not an option.

Then we're left with the urban jungle. So where did we go (title's a dead giveaway)? Just a two-kilometer stroll from our place is the Manila Zoo. I decided it was about time for a revisit.

Almost 5 months preggy and playing with a Burmese Python. Notice the snake getting too comfy resting between my legs?

Voluntourism

Travel to the fullest! And by that, I don't mean party like there's no tomorrow. Make your trip more meaningful by getting involved in 'voluntourism', or volunteerism while on vacation.

Just last January 28, we finally had the time to attend Hands On Manila's volunteer orientation at Powerbook's Greenbelt. That's where we got introduced to Hand On Volunteer Vacations (HOVV).

Hands On Manila Foundation, Inc. (HOM) is a non-profit organization which provides flexible volunteer opportunities for community service. HOM offers close to 40 projects every month, each led by the Sherpa or the volunteer leader. A 'Sherpa' is a Nepalese term which means mountain guide. Each project may involve five or more volunteers, and may last 2-5 hours.

HOM Volunteer Passport and newsletter, provided upon registration for the volunteer orientation.

Forget Climate Change

Smoke gobbling Manila. View of Malate, Paco and Sampaloc from Burgundy Westbay Tower's Roofdeck.
Streets of Manila turn into war zones every New Year's Eve. And the annual theme: Forget poverty, forget climate change.

Considered as one of the happiest people on the planet, the Filipinos greeted 2010 with a bang. Literally. Despite catastrophic Typhoon Ondoy's visit in 2009 (PLUS a few Christmas fires and sunken vessels), they lit up fireworks and spent as much as they can on Media Noche as if the past year was their most prosperous. That's the unfaltering faith of every Juan.

This Year's Craziest Adventure

The Pinay Travel Junkie is finally tying the knot! Okay, so this isn't really an adventure post, but I categorize getting hitched as one. For an independent, free-spirited, semi-nomadic chick, being a wife or a mom may seem too constricting - but since I am marrying my backpacking partner, I feel confident that we'd be able to adjust to our respective roles easily.

I mostly post my personal blogs on my other website The Pseudo Hippie, but since everything about our relationship is travel-related, I decided to write here instead. In a way, this blog will also introduce me to my (few) readers.

We met in U.A.E., a year ago through hospitality exchange network Couchsurfing. We were the only active members in the emirate of Al Ain. He was a researcher at U.A.E. University's Interactive Robots and Media Lab, while I worked as a front office attendant for Al Massa Hotel. Our short eyeball at Jimi Mall was followed by two weekly dates, then daily meetings. We were already exclusively dating (as if we had much choice in the neighborhood!) after three weeks.

Sick of living in a 'superficial neighborhood', we both quit our jobs and backpacked around South East Asia for six weeks. He proposed a month after that trip, here in the Philippines. Watch his proposal.

Three weeks left before the big day. Wedding theme is Filipiniana, symbolism of bidding goodbye to my citizenship (oh, he's Persian/Aussie by the way) - but never my character. I will always be the Pinay Travel Junkie.

Check out our invitations:
Passport Invitation
Boarding Pass Invitation
For the details/pages inside the each invitation, click HERE.

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Not-So-Forgotten Rizal Park

Rizal Park or Luneta is so famous amongst Filipinos that there's an expression widely used which goes, "parang naglalakad lang sa Luneta", literally translated "just like strolling in Luneta". The expression simply describes a person who walks slowly, without any care if the person behind him needs to rush past. Like a tourist sightseeing.

I wonder, how many Filipinos have used this expression but haven't actually been to Luneta? And when I say been, I mean sitting on a bench or the grass to read a book, having picnic with friends, or taking the kids to the playground. If not for a compulsory school field trip, perhaps less people would have the chance to go.

Malacañang Museum

Located in Kalayaan Hall (old Executive Building built in 1920), within the Malacañang Palace complex, Malacañang Museum houses an impressive collection that showcases the heritage of the Presidency of the Philippines.


Tours are strictly by appointment only. In my case, there was no need to do so. Back in 2006, some locals I've befriended in Basilan introduced me to a Presidential Security Guard who's also a resident of their province. He invited me to visit the palace one day when I was within the area.